Textual Analysis - The Woman in Black (2012)

Textual Analysis of The Woman In Black (2012)

 


We are first introduced to the movie with close-up images of children playing with tea cups accompanied by eerie, creepy music. From the use of tea cups the audience are automatically given the idea that the film is set in England as tea is a very stereotypical item associated with England. This reveals the location to the audience that in will be somewhere in England. In addition to this, from the use of the tea cups and old dolls the audience is given an idea as to what era the movie is set in. The use of the clothing of the characters also portray that it is set a while ago.


The first sound we was exposed to was the music featured in the background from the very start.This music is seen as very eerie and creepy. The slowness and calmness of this music puts the audience on edge. From this, the audience is given notions of death and mortality and they are left with an uncomfortable feeling. The reason for this is to foreshadow the girls deaths and also could be to represent the feelings the audience may endure throughout the film.

We are then able to see a medium shot of three girls sitting on the floor all staring in the same direction. They have all stopped playing with their toys at exactly the same time which suggests that they are shocked at something. This leads the audience thinking about a possible character that is going to be introduced within the narrative – possibly the basis of the film plot. This shot creates the feeling of paranormal activity as they all slowly turn their head in the same way as if they have seen something, or 'the woman in black' – suggesting a possible narrative. In addition to this, the music is starting to get louder which is emphasising on this particular part of the opening – suggesting it is an important factor. This suggests to the audience that something bad may be about to occur and gets the audience ready for the possible events. The loud music connotes danger and panic which again represents the feelings of the audience.


The following shots show the three girls getting up and walking towards the window. We see the girls stepping on their beloved toys, crushing the tea cups and decapitating their dolls head. The reason for this is to show the evil which has overcome them and possibly to foreshadow their own fate, such as the deaf of the dolls means they will die. As they are walking they are all look at the window, focused on it, which intrigues the audience as to what It could be to cause them from being happy to the lifeless expression which portrays the idea that they have been possessed.


We then see the girls jump out of the widow, an act that children or anyone does not usually pursue. This again reinforces the idea that they are possessed by an evil spirit. Because of this, the audience are given a clear idea of the narrative; the idea that the 'woman in black' will be the antagonist throughout the film. The audience is given the idea that the evil spirit will be killing characters, as children as main victims throughout, which leaves the audience intrigued as to why and what is the reason for it. The music then cuts out and we hear scream shouting ‘my baby’ presumably the mother of the children. The reason for this scream is to represent the genre of the film, this is because the scream is a key icon and sound used and heard in most horror films, if not all.


In the last few seconds of the opening scene, we can see a woman dressed in all black in the top right corner of the screen. We only see the back of the hat and what looks to be a funeral outfit.This not only connotes ideas of death and mortality to the audience but portrays ideas to the audience that this is the antagonist within the film as the woman seen matches the title ‘The Woman In Black’. The other reason of this is to keep the identity of the evil force a secret.